Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley: Considering Contact Lenses – That Go a Long Way?

Good afternoon, happy Friday, and all other good salutations to our readers of the Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley blog.

This week, our topic of choice is contact lenses. Even if you wear glasses, you might want to take some time to read this, just in case you should ever decide to change to contacts.

Contact lenses. What a wonder to the world of vision! Those small, spherical, bendable circles have a big impact as eyewear. There are as many different brands and types of lenses to suit as many different customers. Many people use the daily wear contacts (in at morning, out at night, into the small case with saline solution, and repeating the same procedure the next day). Then there are one-day disposables (where you dispose of one pair at night, and place new ones to your eyes the day after, and so on). Then…there are the kinds you can actually sleep in for days, weeks, and (dare we say it), nearly a month.

That is the type of contact lens we would like to focus on.

One brand, Air Optix® Night & Day® Aqua Contact Lenses, is FDA-approved and may be worn for up to 30 days – continuously. Most eye care professionals (and we include ourselves among them) recommend this brand for those who choose to have the option of sleeping without having to remove their lenses.

But please remember, ladies and gentleman – 30 is the operative number (or magic number, whatever you like). Please don’t think, “Well, I’ve worn them for 30 days straight, and I’m too tired to set up the new pair…what difference does one more night make?”

Our answer: “Plenty.”

Although contact lenses can help your vision, they can harm your eyes – if you don’t follow the instructions about how long to wear them, and how to care for them. Read some clear-cut facts from Louise A. Sclafani, O.D., F.A.A.O., in regard to contact lenses.

Your eyes need oxygen. Period. And although they are closed when you sleep (at least we hope they are), the outmost portion of the cornea (the clear dome that covers the colored part and pupil) gets oxygen that is dissolved from tears. Contact lenses block this. Additionally, protein deposits and lipids will build up on the lens and cause infection. We don’t want that, and you don’t want that.

In short, if you take care of your contact lenses, your contact lenses will take care of your eyes.

For those of you who are considering going the 30-day route, please make an appointment to have your eyes checked first to find out if your eyes are suited for this type of contact lens as well as a prescription.

Contact lenses are cool and comfortable – if you’re careful with them. (We thought that up ourselves.)

Thanks for reading. Keep your sites on healthy vision.